Systems And Methods For Providing A Customized Webpage Interface

ABSTRACT

According to one aspect, embodiments of the invention provide a method for administering a virtual gift card, the method comprising acts of receiving a request from a server of a retailer, providing, in response to the request, an interface to a terminal operated by a purchaser, the interface comprising fields for receiving a value and a recipient for the virtual gift card, receiving from the terminal, in response to input from the purchaser, the value and the recipient for the virtual gift card, generating a code for the virtual gift card, and sending a message to the recipient of the virtual gift card, the message including the code for the virtual gift card.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/108,822, entitled “SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR IMPLEMENTING AND MANAGING VIRTUAL GIFT CARDS,” by David D.Stone et al., filed Oct. 27, 2008, of which application is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

APPLICABLE FIELD

The field of the present invention relates generally to systems andmethods for implementing and managing virtual gift cards.

BACKGROUND

Some retailers have implemented gift card programs where a visitor to aretail establishment can purchase a card of a particular denomination.The card may then be given to a recipient, who can redeem the gift cardat the retail establishment for the specified denomination. There arealso computer-based systems that allow a visitor to a website topurchase a “virtual” gift card which can be distributed electronicallyto a recipient (e.g., via email or other distribution method).

SUMMARY

Described herein are systems and methods for implementing and managingvirtual gift cards. Broadly speaking, a virtual gift card is anelectronic implementation of a physical gift card that can be purchasedin many retail establishments and redeemed by gift card recipients forthe purchase of goods and/or services. The virtual gift card may bepurchased and/or redeemed in physical storefronts, on-line (either at aretailer's website or a third-party website), in catalogs, by telephone,by mail, or in any other way that transactions for the sale of goods orservices are carried out. The virtual gift card may be redeemable forgoods or services such as retail goods, purchases in restaurants, travelservices, hotel or other hospitality services, entertainment such asmovie tickets, or any other goods or services. The term “retailer” isused herein to describe an entity that accepts payment for goods orservices by virtual gift card, but it should be understood that the“retailer” in the following discussion can be any provider of goods orservices including, but not limited to manufacturers or products,providers of services, resellers, advertisers, or other type ofprovider.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention a method foradministering a virtual gift card is provided. The method comprises actsof receiving a request from a server of a retailer, providing, inresponse to the request, an interface to a terminal operated by apurchaser, the interface comprising fields for receiving a value and arecipient for the virtual gift card, receiving from the terminal, inresponse to input from the purchaser, the value and the recipient forthe virtual gift card, generating a code for the virtual gift card, andsending a message to the recipient of the virtual gift card, the messageincluding the code for the virtual gift card.

In accordance with one embodiment, the method further comprises acts ofreceiving, from a terminal operated by the recipient, a messageincluding the code for the virtual gift card and an amount of apurchase, and debiting, from an account associated with the recipient,the amount of the purchase. In accordance with another embodiment, themethod further comprises act of receiving, from a terminal operated bythe retailer, a message including the code for the virtual gift card andan amount of a purchase, and debiting, from an account associated withthe recipient, the amount of the purchase.

In accordance with one embodiment, the method further comprises an actof receiving from the terminal, in response to input from the purchaser,information specifying at least one customizable design element, andwherein the message sent to the recipient of the virtual gift cardincludes the at least one customizable design element. In accordancewith another embodiment, the interface includes a preview portiondisplaying the at least one customizable design element according to theinformation specifying the at least one customizable design element. Inaccordance with another embodiment the at least one customizable designelement includes text. In accordance with another embodiment, the atleast one customizable design element includes an image.

In accordance with one embodiment, the interface provided to theterminal operated by the purchaser further comprises a design elementspecific to the retailer. In accordance with another embodiment, themessage sent to the recipient of the virtual gift card further comprisesa design element specific to the retailer.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method forproviding a virtual gift card is provided. The method comprises acts ofreceiving at least one code for at least one virtual gift card from aretailer, receiving a request from a server of the retailer, providing,in response to the request, an interface to a terminal operated by apurchaser, the interface comprising fields for receiving a value and arecipient for the virtual gift card, receiving from the terminal, inresponse to input from the purchaser, the value and the recipient forthe virtual gift card, associating a code with the virtual gift card,and sending to the recipient of the virtual gift card a messageincluding the code for the virtual gift card.

In accordance with one embodiment, the method further comprises an actof receiving from the terminal, in response to input from the purchaser,information specifying at least one customizable design element, andwherein the message sent to the recipient of the virtual gift cardincludes the at least one customizable design element. In accordancewith another embodiment, the interface includes a preview portiondisplaying the at least one customizable design element according to theinformation specifying the at least one customizable design element. Inaccordance with another embodiment the at least one customizable designelement includes text. In accordance with another embodiment the atleast one customizable design element includes an image.

In accordance with one embodiment, the interface provided to theterminal operated by the purchaser further comprises a design elementspecific to the retailer. In accordance with another embodiment, themessage sent to the recipient of the virtual gift card further comprisesa design element specific to the retailer.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method forproviding a virtual gift card template is provided. The method comprisesacts of providing an interface to a terminal operated by a designer, theinterface comprising a plurality of fields, each of the plurality offields corresponding to a design element of the virtual gift cardtemplate, receiving from the terminal, in response to input from thedesigner, a value for each field of the plurality of fields, the valuespecifying the design element corresponding to the field, and providing,in response to receiving a request for a virtual gift card, a virtualgift card template having the specified design elements.

In accordance with one embodiment, the method further comprises an actof receiving from the terminal, in response to input from the user,information specifying at least one customizable design element, andwherein the virtual gift card template includes the at least onecustomizable design element. In accordance with another embodiment, theinterface includes a preview portion displaying the at least onecustomizable design element according to the information specifying theat least one customizable design element. In accordance with anotherembodiment the at least one customizable design element includes text.In accordance with another embodiment, the at least one customizabledesign element includes an image.

In accordance with one embodiment, the interface provided to theterminal operated by the designer further comprises a design elementspecific to the retailer. In accordance with another embodiment, thevirtual gift card template comprises a design element specific to theretailer.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method foradministering a plurality of virtual gift cards is provided. The methodcomprises acts of receiving a request from a server of a retailer,providing, in response to the request, an interface to a terminaloperated by a purchaser; the interface comprising fields for receivingat least one value and a plurality of recipients for the plurality ofvirtual gift cards, receiving from the terminal, in response to inputfrom the purchaser, the at least one value and the plurality ofrecipients for the plurality of virtual gift cards, generating aplurality of codes, each code corresponding to one of the plurality ofvirtual gift cards, and sending a message to each of the plurality ofrecipients of the virtual gift cards, the message including one of theplurality of codes.

In accordance with one embodiment, the method further comprises acts ofreceiving, from a terminal operated by a one of the recipients, amessage including the code sent to the recipient and an amount of apurchase, and debiting, from an account associated with the one of therecipient, the amount of the purchase. In accordance with anotherembodiment, the method further comprises acts of receiving, from aterminal operated by the retailer, a message including the code sent toone of the recipients and an amount of a purchase, and debiting, from anaccount associated with the one of the recipient, the amount of thepurchase.

In accordance with one embodiment, the method further comprises an actof receiving from the terminal, in response to input from the purchaser,information specifying at least one customizable design element, andwherein the message sent to the recipient of the virtual gift cardincludes the at least one customizable design element. In accordancewith another embodiment, the interface includes a preview portiondisplaying the at least one customizable design element according to theinformation specifying the at least one customizable design element. Inaccordance with another embodiment the at least one customizable designelement includes text. In accordance with another embodiment, the atleast one customizable design element includes an image.

In accordance with one embodiment, the interface provided to theterminal operated by the purchaser further comprises a design elementspecific to the retailer. In accordance with another embodiment themessage sent to the recipient of the virtual gift card further comprisesa design element specific to the retailer.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method forproviding a plurality of virtual gift cards is provided. The methodcomprises acts of receiving a plurality of codes for the plurality ofvirtual gift cards from a retailer, receiving a request from a server ofthe retailer, providing, in response to the request, an interface to aterminal operated by a purchaser, the interface comprising fields forreceiving at least one value and a plurality of recipients for theplurality of virtual gift cards, receiving from the terminal, inresponse to input from the purchaser, the at least one value and theplurality of recipients for the plurality of virtual gift cards,associating one of the plurality of codes with one of the plurality ofvirtual gift cards, and sending to each of the plurality of recipients,a message including one of the plurality of codes.

In accordance with one embodiment, the method further comprises an actof receiving from the terminal, in response to input from the purchaser,information specifying at least one customizable design element, andwherein the message sent to a recipient of a virtual gift card includesthe at least one customizable design element. In accordance with anotherembodiment, the interface includes a preview portion displaying the atleast one customizable design element according to the informationspecifying the at least one customizable design element. In accordancewith another embodiment, the at least one customizable design elementincludes text. In accordance with another embodiment, the at least onecustomizable design element includes an image.

In accordance with one embodiment, the interface provided to theterminal operated by the purchaser further comprises a design elementspecific to the retailer. In accordance with another embodiment, themessage sent to the recipient of the virtual gift card further comprisesa design element specific to the retailer.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a computerreadable medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereonthat define instructions that, as a result of being executed by acomputer, instruct the computer to perform a method for administering avirtual gift card is provided. The method comprises acts of receiving arequest from a server of a retailer, providing, in response to therequest, an interface to a terminal operated by a purchaser, theinterface comprising fields for receiving a value and a recipient forthe virtual gift card, receiving from the terminal, in response to inputfrom the purchaser, the value and the recipient for the virtual giftcard, generating a code for the virtual gift card, and sending a messageto the recipient of the virtual gift card, the message including thecode for the virtual gift card.

In accordance with one embodiment, the method further comprises acts ofreceiving, from a terminal operated by the recipient, a messageincluding the code for the virtual gift card and an amount of apurchase, and debiting, from an account associated with the recipient,the amount of the purchase. In accordance with another embodiment, themethod further comprises act of receiving, from a terminal operated bythe retailer, a message including the code for the virtual gift card andan amount of a purchase, and debiting, from an account associated withthe recipient, the amount of the purchase.

In accordance with one embodiment, the method further comprises an actof receiving from the terminal, in response to input from the purchaser,information specifying at least one customizable design element, andwherein the message sent to the recipient of the virtual gift cardincludes the at least one customizable design element. In accordancewith another embodiment, the interface includes a preview portiondisplaying the at least one customizable design element according to theinformation specifying the at least one customizable design element. Inaccordance with another embodiment the at least one customizable designelement includes text. In accordance with another embodiment, the atleast one customizable design element includes an image.

In accordance with one embodiment, the interface provided to theterminal operated by the purchaser further comprises a design elementspecific to the retailer. In accordance with another embodiment, themessage sent to the recipient of the virtual gift card further comprisesa design element specific to the retailer.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a computerreadable medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereonthat define instructions that, as a result of being executed by acomputer, instruct the computer to perform a method for administering avirtual gift card is provided. The method comprises acts of receiving atleast one code for at least one virtual gift card from a retailer,receiving a request from a server of the retailer, providing, inresponse to the request, an interface to a terminal operated by apurchaser, the interface comprising fields for receiving a value and arecipient for the virtual gift card, receiving from the terminal, inresponse to input from the purchaser, the value and the recipient forthe virtual gift card, associating a code with the virtual gift card,and sending to the recipient of the virtual gift card a messageincluding the code for the virtual gift card.

In accordance with one embodiment, the method further comprises an actof receiving from the terminal, in response to input from the purchaser,information specifying at least one customizable design element, andwherein the message sent to the recipient of the virtual gift cardincludes the at least one customizable design element. In accordancewith another embodiment, the interface includes a preview portiondisplaying the at least one customizable design element according to theinformation specifying the at least one customizable design element. Inaccordance with another embodiment the at least one customizable designelement includes text. In accordance with another embodiment the atleast one customizable design element includes an image.

In accordance with one embodiment, the interface provided to theterminal operated by the purchaser further comprises a design elementspecific to the retailer. In accordance with another embodiment, themessage sent to the recipient of the virtual gift card further comprisesa design element specific to the retailer.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a computerreadable medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereonthat define instructions that, as a result of being executed by acomputer, instruct the computer to perform a method for administering avirtual gift card is provided. The method comprises acts of providing aninterface to a terminal operated by a designer, the interface comprisinga plurality of fields, each of the plurality of fields corresponding toa design element of the virtual gift card template, receiving from theterminal, in response to input from the designer, a value for each fieldof the plurality of fields, the value specifying the design elementcorresponding to the field, and providing, in response to receiving arequest for a virtual gift card, a virtual gift card template having thespecified design elements.

In accordance with one embodiment, the method further comprises an actof receiving from the terminal, in response to input from the user,information specifying at least one customizable design element, andwherein the virtual gift card template includes the at least onecustomizable design element. In accordance with another embodiment, theinterface includes a preview portion displaying the at least onecustomizable design element according to the information specifying theat least one customizable design element. In accordance with anotherembodiment the at least one customizable design element includes text.In accordance with another embodiment, the at least one customizabledesign element includes an image.

In accordance with one embodiment, the interface provided to theterminal operated by the designer further comprises a design elementspecific to the retailer. In accordance with another embodiment, thevirtual gift card template comprises a design element specific to theretailer.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a computerreadable medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereonthat define instructions that, as a result of being executed by acomputer, instruct the computer to perform a method for administering aplurality of virtual gift cards is provided. The method comprises actsof receiving a request from a server of a retailer, providing, inresponse to the request, an interface to a terminal operated by apurchaser; the interface comprising fields for receiving at least onevalue and a plurality of recipients for the plurality of virtual giftcards, receiving from the terminal, in response to input from thepurchaser, the at least one value and the plurality of recipients forthe plurality of virtual gift cards, generating a plurality of codes,each code corresponding to one of the plurality of virtual gift cards,and sending a message to each of the plurality of recipients of thevirtual gift cards, the message including one of the plurality of codes.

In accordance with one embodiment, the method further comprises acts ofreceiving, from a terminal operated by a one of the recipients, amessage including the code sent to the recipient and an amount of apurchase, and debiting, from an account associated with the one of therecipient, the amount of the purchase. In accordance with anotherembodiment, the method further comprises acts of receiving, from aterminal operated by the retailer, a message including the code sent toone of the recipients and an amount of a purchase, and debiting, from anaccount associated with the one of the recipient, the amount of thepurchase.

In accordance with one embodiment, the method further comprises an actof receiving from the terminal, in response to input from the purchaser,information specifying at least one customizable design element, andwherein the message sent to the recipient of the virtual gift cardincludes the at least one customizable design element. In accordancewith another embodiment, the interface includes a preview portiondisplaying the at least one customizable design element according to theinformation specifying the at least one customizable design element. Inaccordance with another embodiment the at least one customizable designelement includes text. In accordance with another embodiment, the atleast one customizable design element includes an image.

In accordance with one embodiment, the interface provided to theterminal operated by the purchaser further comprises a design elementspecific to the retailer. In accordance with another embodiment themessage sent to the recipient of the virtual gift card further comprisesa design element specific to the retailer.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a computerreadable medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereonthat define instructions that, as a result of being executed by acomputer, instruct the computer to perform a method for administering aplurality of virtual gift cards is provided. The method comprises actsof receiving a plurality of codes for the plurality of virtual giftcards from a retailer, receiving a request from a server of theretailer, providing, in response to the request, an interface to aterminal operated by a purchaser, the interface comprising fields forreceiving at least one value and a plurality of recipients for theplurality of virtual gift cards, receiving from the terminal, inresponse to input from the purchaser, the at least one value and theplurality of recipients for the plurality of virtual gift cards,associating one of the plurality of codes with one of the plurality ofvirtual gift cards, and sending to each of the plurality of recipients,a message including one of the plurality of codes.

In accordance with one embodiment, the method further comprises an actof receiving from the terminal, in response to input from the purchaser,information specifying at least one customizable design element, andwherein the message sent to a recipient of a virtual gift card includesthe at least one customizable design element. In accordance with anotherembodiment, the interface includes a preview portion displaying the atleast one customizable design element according to the informationspecifying the at least one customizable design element. In accordancewith another embodiment, the at least one customizable design elementincludes text. In accordance with another embodiment, the at least onecustomizable design element includes an image.

In accordance with one embodiment, the interface provided to theterminal operated by the purchaser further comprises a design elementspecific to the retailer. In accordance with another embodiment, themessage sent to the recipient of the virtual gift card further comprisesa design element specific to the retailer.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a system foradministering a virtual gift card is provided. The system comprises acomponent configured to receive a request from a server of a retailer, acomponent configured to provide, in response to the request, aninterface to a terminal operated by a purchaser, the interfacecomprising fields for receiving a value and a recipient for the virtualgift card, a component configured to receive from the terminal, inresponse to input from the purchaser, the value and the recipient forthe virtual gift card, a component configured to generate a code for thevirtual gift card, and a component configured to send a message to therecipient of the virtual gift card, the message including the code forthe virtual gift card.

In accordance with one embodiment, the system further comprises acomponent configured to receive, from a terminal operated by therecipient, a message including the code for the virtual gift card and anamount of a purchase, and a component configured to debit, from anaccount associated with the recipient, the amount of the purchase. Inaccordance with another embodiment, the system further comprises acomponent configured to receive, from a terminal operated by theretailer, a message including the code for the virtual gift card and anamount of a purchase, and a component configured to debit, from anaccount associated with the recipient, the amount of the purchase.

In accordance with one embodiment, the system further comprises acomponent configured to receive from the terminal, in response to inputfrom the purchaser, information specifying at least one customizabledesign element, and wherein the message sent to the recipient of thevirtual gift card includes the at least one customizable design element.In accordance with another embodiment, the interface includes a previewportion displaying the at least one customizable design elementaccording to the information specifying the at least one customizabledesign element. In accordance with another embodiment, the at least onecustomizable design element includes text. In accordance with anotherembodiment, the at least one customizable design element includes animage.

In accordance with one embodiment, the interface provided to theterminal operated by the purchaser further comprises a design elementspecific to the retailer. In accordance with another embodiment, themessage sent to the recipient of the virtual gift card further comprisesa design element specific to the retailer.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a system forproviding a virtual gift card is provided. The system comprises acomponent configured to receive at least one code for at least onevirtual gift card from a retailer, a component configured to receive arequest from a server of the retailer, a component configured toprovide, in response to the request, an interface to a terminal operatedby a purchaser; the interface comprising fields for receiving a valueand a recipient for the virtual gift card, a component configured toreceive from the terminal, in response to input from the purchaser, thevalue and the recipient for the virtual gift card, a componentconfigured to associate a code with the virtual gift card, and acomponent configured to send to the recipient of the virtual gift card amessage including the code for the virtual gift card.

In accordance with one embodiment, the system further comprises acomponent configured to receive from the terminal, in response to inputfrom the purchaser, information specifying at least one customizabledesign element, and wherein the message sent to the recipient of thevirtual gift card includes the at least one customizable design element.In accordance with another embodiment, the interface includes a previewportion displaying the at least one customizable design elementaccording to the information specifying the at least one customizabledesign element. In accordance with another embodiment, the at least onecustomizable design element includes text. In accordance with anotherembodiment, the at least one customizable design element includes animage.

In accordance with one embodiment, the interface provided to theterminal operated by the purchaser further comprises a design elementspecific to the retailer. In accordance with another embodiment, themessage sent to the recipient of the virtual gift card further comprisesa design element specific to the retailer.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a system forproviding a virtual gift card template is provided. The system comprisesa component configured to provide an interface to a terminal operated bya designer, the interface comprising a plurality of fields, each of theplurality of fields corresponding to a design element of the virtualgift card template, a component configured to receive from the terminal,in response to input from the designer, a value for each field of theplurality of fields, the value specifying the design elementcorresponding to the field, and a component configured to provide, inresponse to receiving a request for a virtual gift card, a virtual giftcard template having the specified design elements.

In accordance with one embodiment, the system further comprises acomponent configured to receive from the terminal, in response to inputfrom the user, information specifying at least one customizable designelement, and wherein the virtual gift card template includes the atleast one customizable design element. In accordance with anotherembodiment, the interface includes a preview portion displaying the atleast one customizable design element according to the informationspecifying the at least one customizable design element. In accordancewith another embodiment, the at least one customizable design elementincludes text. In accordance with another embodiment, the at least onecustomizable design element includes an image.

In accordance with one embodiment, the interface provided to theterminal operated by the designer further comprises a design elementspecific to the retailer. In accordance with another embodiment, thevirtual gift card template comprises a design element specific to theretailer.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a system foradministering a plurality of virtual gift cards is provided. The systemcomprises a component configured to receive a request from a server of aretailer, a component configured to provide, in response to the request,an interface to a terminal operated by a purchaser; the interfacecomprising fields for receiving at least one value and a plurality ofrecipients for the plurality of virtual gift cards, a componentconfigured to receive from the terminal, in response to input from thepurchaser, the at least one value and the plurality of recipients forthe plurality of virtual gift cards, a component configured to generatea plurality of codes, each code corresponding to one of the plurality ofvirtual gift cards, and a component configured to send a message to eachof the plurality of recipients of the virtual gift cards, the messageincluding one of the plurality of codes.

In accordance with one embodiment, the system further comprises acomponent configured to receive, from a terminal operated by a one ofthe recipients, a message including the code sent to the recipient andan amount of a purchase, and a component configured to debit, from anaccount associated with the one of the recipient, the amount of thepurchase. In accordance with another embodiment, the system furthercomprises a component configured to receive, from a terminal operated bythe retailer, a message including the code sent to one of the recipientsand an amount of a purchase, and a component configured to debit, froman account associated with the one of the recipient, the amount of thepurchase.

In accordance with one embodiment, the system further comprises acomponent configured to receive from the terminal, in response to inputfrom the purchaser, information specifying at least one customizabledesign element, and wherein the message sent to the recipient of thevirtual gift card includes the at least one customizable design element.In accordance with another embodiment, the interface includes a previewportion displaying the at least one customizable design elementaccording to the information specifying the at least one customizabledesign element. In accordance with another embodiment, the at least onecustomizable design element includes text. In accordance with anotherembodiment, the at least one customizable design element includes animage.

In accordance with one embodiment, the interface provided to theterminal operated by the purchaser further comprises a design elementspecific to the retailer. In accordance with another embodiment, themessage sent to the recipient of the virtual gift card further comprisesa design element specific to the retailer.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a system forproviding a plurality of virtual gift cards is provided. The systemcomprises a component configured to receive a plurality of codes for theplurality of virtual gift cards from a retailer, a component configuredto receive a request from a server of the retailer, a componentconfigured to provide, in response to the request, an interface to aterminal operated by a purchaser; the interface comprising fields forreceiving at least one value and a plurality of recipients for theplurality of virtual gift cards, a component configured to receive fromthe terminal, in response to input from the purchaser, the at least onevalue and the plurality of recipients for the plurality of virtual giftcards, a component configured to associate one of the plurality of codesto each one of the plurality of virtual gift cards, and a componentconfigured to send to each of the plurality of recipients, a messageincluding one of the plurality of codes.

In accordance with one embodiment, the system further comprises acomponent configured to receive from the terminal, in response to inputfrom the purchaser, information specifying at least one customizabledesign element, and wherein the message sent to a recipient of a virtualgift card includes the at least one customizable design element. Inaccordance with another embodiment, the interface includes a previewportion displaying the at least one customizable design elementaccording to the information specifying the at least one customizabledesign element. In accordance with another embodiment, the at least onecustomizable design element includes text. In accordance with anotherembodiment, the at least one customizable design element includes animage.

In accordance with one embodiment, the interface provided to theterminal operated by the purchaser further comprises a design elementspecific to the retailer. In accordance with another embodiment, themessage sent to the recipient of the virtual gift card further comprisesa design element specific to the retailer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In thedrawings, each identical or nearly identical component that isillustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. Forpurposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in everydrawing. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example virtual gift card interface in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 2 illustrates another example of a virtual gift card interface inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 3 illustrates a payment information segment of a virtual gift cardinterface in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 4 illustrates a confirmation message of a virtual gift cardinterface in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 5 illustrates a virtual gift card notice of a virtual gift cardinterface in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 6 illustrates a virtual gift card webpage in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 7 illustrates a virtual gift card authorization browser applicationin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of an example process for developing andadministering virtual gift cards by the processor model in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an example system architecture fordeveloping and administering virtual gift cards by the processor modelin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of an example process for developing andadministering virtual gift cards by the distributor model in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an example system architecture fordeveloping and administering virtual gift cards by the distributor modelin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 12 illustrates a bulk purchase interface in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention, and

FIG. 13 illustrates an example computer system in which various aspectsin accordance with the present invention may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The aspects disclosed herein, which are in accord with the presentinvention, are not limited in their application to the details ofconstruction and the arrangement of components set forth in thefollowing description or illustrated in the drawings. These aspects arecapable of assuming other embodiments and of being practiced or of beingcarried out in various ways. Examples of specific implementations areprovided herein for illustrative purposes only and are not intended tobe limiting. In particular, acts, elements and features discussed inconnection with any one or more embodiments are not intended to beexcluded from a similar role in any other embodiments.

For example, according to various embodiments of the present invention,a computer system is configured to perform any of the functionsdescribed herein, including but not limited to, providing an interface.However, such a system may also perform other functions. Moreover, thesystems described herein may be configured to include or exclude any ofthe functions discussed herein. Thus the invention is not limited to aspecific function or set of functions. Also, the phraseology andterminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should notbe regarded as limiting. The use herein of “including,” “comprising,”“having,” “containing,” “involving,” and variations thereof is meant toencompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well asadditional items.

Embodiments of the systems and methods described herein provide a systemthat permits a retailer to rely on a third-party service for providingvirtual gift cards while preserving its own branding in the designelements included in the interface provided to virtual gift cardpurchasers and recipients and in the virtual gift card itself. Insteadof having to develop its own in-house system for administering the saleand redemption of gift cards, a retailer can engage a third partyvirtual gift card provider to provide administration and developmentaccording to the methods and systems described herein, and obtain a setof tools for customizing virtual gift cards according to the retailer'sbranding and design requirements. Embodiments of the systems and methodsdescribed herein also allow purchasers to customize aspects of thevirtual gift card, which may increase customer engagement resulting inmore sales to the retailer. Moreover, in embodiments in which thevirtual gift card interface includes branding and/or other designelements specific to the retailer, the experience of purchasing orredeeming a virtual gift card can be essentially transparent to theuser. For example, instead of being redirected to an obvious third-partywebsite, the user may be redirected to a gift card provider's websiteusing the design elements of the familiar, trusted retailer, which canincrease customer trust and willingness to purchase virtual gift cards.

According to embodiments of the systems and methods described herein, avirtual gift card purchaser may buy a virtual gift card for a recipient.In some embodiments, the virtual gift card may be accepted for purchasesby a particular retailer or group of retailers. An account (i.e., adatabase entry) may be created corresponding to the recipient's virtualgift card and credited with the virtual gift card amount selected andpaid for by the purchaser. The recipient receives, for example in emailor in a web browser, a notification of the virtual gift card. Thenotification may include a virtual gift card code uniquely correlated tothe recipient's virtual gift card. The recipient may then make purchaseson-line using the code, and the amount of such purchases will be debitedfrom the recipient's virtual gift card. Alternatively, the recipient mayprint out an email or a web-page including the virtual gift card code oran encoded representation of the code (such as a bar code) and bring theprintout to a physical storefront of a retailer accepting the virtualgift card. At the physical storefront the code may be keyed or scannedinto a computer which requests a debit from the recipient's virtual giftcard of the amount of purchase. Other aspects and features will bedescribed below.

In embodiments of the systems and methods described herein, a system forproviding or administering virtual gift cards may be a hosted serviceoffering which allows a retailer (or other merchant or business) tooffer its customers the opportunity to purchase virtual gift cards viaits own website or via a third party website. In one embodiment, asystem for providing or administering virtual gift cards can beconstructed according to a processor model or according to a distributormodel.

According to one embodiment, in the processor model the provider of thevirtual gift card platform may generate codes that are used to identifyvirtual gift cards. Additionally, in the processor model the provider ofthe virtual gift card platform may maintain a database of virtual giftcards. Where the provider maintains such a database, purchases made withthe virtual gift card may be directed to the database so thatinformation, such as the remaining balance on the virtual gift card, maybe kept up-to-date as purchases are made.

According to another embodiment, in the distributor model the providerof the virtual gift card platform may, instead of generating virtualgift card codes, receive virtual gift card codes from a retailer (orfrom a third-party generating codes on behalf of a retailer), either inblocks or individually when needed. Additionally, in the distributormodel the retailer may maintain its own database of virtual gift cards.In the distributor model, the provider of the virtual gift card platformmay not need to be kept apprised of purchases by the virtual gift cardrecipient.

Processor Model

As noted above, in the processor model the provider of a virtual giftcard platform may provide the virtual gift card codes and maintain thedatabase of recipient accounts.

According to one embodiment of the processor model, a purchaser wishingto order a virtual gift card may be redirected to a website of theprovider of a virtual gift card platform from a website of the retailerat whose websites and/or stores the virtual gift card is redeemable. Forexample, a purchaser may click on an area of the retailer's websitemarked “get a virtual gift card” or similar and be redirected to awebsite of the provider.

As seen in FIG. 1, the website of the provider may include an interface100 having fields 102 into which the purchaser can enter informationpertaining to the virtual gift card and to the recipient. In oneembodiment, the interface 100 is customized with design elements 103particular to the retailer such as the retailer's logo or other designelements. Advantages of this feature include branding for the retailerand transparency for the purchaser. The retailer can rely on the giftcard provider to handle providing the virtual gift cards whilemaintaining its brand presence to the purchaser throughout the process.The purchaser may also retain the experience of shopping with a trustedretailer instead of being obviously redirected to a third-party website.

The fields 102 in the user interface 100 may collect information fromthe purchaser such as a dollar amount of the virtual gift card and thename and/or email address of the recipient. The interface 100 mayprovide the opportunity to select a background image 105 for the virtualgift card. The background image may, in one embodiment, be selected froma predetermined set of images 104 presented to the purchaser, forexample, images provided by the retailer when configuring the virtualgift card interface 100. The interface 100 may, in one embodiment,provide the purchaser the opportunity to upload his or her own image foruse as the background, in addition to or instead of providingpredetermined image choices. The interface 100 may provide the purchaserthe opportunity to select from a number of predetermined messages (notshown), such as “Happy Birthday!” or “Congratulations!” The interface100 may also provide the purchaser with a text field 106 for optionallyentering a personalized message for the recipient. For example, theinterface 100 may provide a text box 106 into which the purchaser maytype any desired text. The purchaser's text will be displayed on thevirtual gift card sent to the recipient. In one embodiment, there may bean upper limit on the number of characters (e.g., 90 characters) and/orthe number of lines of text in the customized personal message. Theupper limit may be desirable for practicality of implementation as wellas to preserve design aspects of the virtual gift card.

According to one embodiment, the interface 100 may show a preview 108 ofthe completed virtual gift card with purchaser-selected orpurchaser-created elements in place. As discussed, in one embodiment theinterface 100 may give the purchaser the opportunity to select otherdesign elements of the virtual gift card, such as a picture background(either selected from a predetermined set or uploaded by the purchaser),text color, or other design elements. These design elements may also bedisplayed in the preview 108 of the completed virtual gift card. Thepreview may be displayed in real-time, or upon input from the purchaser.In one embodiment, the interface includes a two-pane presentation inwhich one pane 110 includes fields for the purchaser to enterinformation and/or select design elements, and the other pane 112includes a display area for displaying a preview of the virtual giftcard. This gives the purchaser the opportunity to readily visualize thevirtual gift card prior to purchase.

For example, as discussed above, according to one embodiment, theinterface 100 provides for the purchaser to enter a personalized messageof up to some predetermined number of characters. In one embodiment, thepersonal message can be previewed on the virtual gift card as it isbeing written. In another embodiment, the virtual gift card template maybe specifically designed so that the personal message text can bedisplayed in a manner that does not conflict with the other designelements. The preview feature may permit the purchaser to verify thatthe personal message text does not overlap or otherwise conflict withother design elements in the virtual gift card.

The interface 100 is further described with reference to FIG. 2.According to one embodiment, the interface 100 may provide the purchaseran option 114 for delivery of the virtual gift card immediately uponpurchase or at a later date selected or otherwise entered by thepurchaser into a delivery date field of the interface. The interface 100may also include fields 116 for entering information about the purchaserand/or recipient, such as the purchaser's name and/or email address andthe recipient's email.

The interface 100 is further described with reference to FIG. 3.According to one embodiment, once all of the elements of the virtualgift card have been selected and/or entered, the interface 100 providesto the purchaser fields 118 for entering payment information, such ascredit card information, and fields 120 for entering shipmentinformation. The system may charge the purchaser for the amount of thevirtual gift card and, in one embodiment, may also include a fee orservice charge. When payment has been approved, the system may send aconfirmation message to the purchaser, for example as a webpage, anemail message, or both. One example of a confirmation message 122 can beseen in the interface 100 of FIG. 4. According to one embodiment, theconfirmation message 122 may include such information as the recipientsname, the recipients email address, the date of delivery, the amount ofthe gift card and/or the means by which the gift card can be redeemed.

According to one embodiment, the system also generates a virtual giftcard code that can be uniquely associated with the virtual gift cardbeing created. The virtual gift code may be generated at any point inthe process of creating the virtual gift card and associated with therecipient at any point in the process of creating the virtual gift card.In one embodiment, virtual gift card codes are generated and stored forretrieval and assignment to a particular recipient virtual gift cardduring the process of creating a virtual gift card. In otherembodiments, a virtual gift card code may be generated upon entry of therecipient's name, upon approval of the purchaser's payment for thevirtual gift card, or at any other time during the process of generatinga virtual gift card.

According to one embodiment, virtual gift card codes may be generated asfollows. Code generation may begin with a sequence number beginning, forexample, at 1, and incremented each time a code is generated, up to amaximum sequence number (i.e., 1 billion). The sequence number ismultiplied by a large prime number. A unique and difficult-to-predictinteger is obtained by taking the remainder of this product modulo themaximum sequence number. This approach provides unique numbering (up tothe maximum sequence number), without any externally obvious pattern. Insome embodiments, the unique number may have prepended to it theprovider's BIN (bank identifier number) or IIN (issuer identifiernumber). The resulting code may also have an additional digit appendedto make the full number valid according to a checksum such as the Luhnalgorithm. This final Luhn-compliant number is one embodiment of a codethat may be used as a unique virtual gift card code, and assigned by thesystem to a recipient's virtual gift card. It should be understood thatmany other approaches to generating and/or validating a unique code foruse as a virtual gift card code may be taken. Any other procedure forgenerating such a code may be used with the systems and methodsdescribed in this application.

In one embodiment, once the payment has been approved, a message may beprovided to the recipient notifying the recipient that a gift card hasbeen purchased for him or her. Where the purchaser has selected theoption of delivering the gift card at a later date, notice to therecipient may be deferred until that date. The notice to the recipientmay be, for example as shown in FIG. 5, an email message 200 identifyingthe retailer, the purchaser, information on how to redeem the gift cardand/or the amount of the gift card. Similar to the interface 100provided to the purchaser, the email message 200 may include designelements 202 consistent with the retailer's branding, such as a logo orother images, particular colors and/or typefaces associated with theretailer's trade dress, or any other design element desired by theretailer.

According to one embodiment, the recipient is provided with the virtualgift card code which, as noted above, was generated and/or assigned tothe recipient's virtual gift card at some prior point. The virtual giftcard code (not shown) may be provided in the email message 200 to therecipient, either directly or encrypted. In some embodiments the codemay be provided alphanumerically, or in others encoded form such as a 1Dor 2D bar code, or in both forms.

In a further embodiment, the email message 200 to the recipient mayinclude a link 204 that the recipient may click on to view a webpageprovided by the virtual gift card provider. One embodiment of thewebpage 300 can be seen in FIG. 6. The webpage 300 likewise may includea display of the recipient's virtual gift card code, eitheralphanumerically 302 or in an encoded form such as a 1D- or 2D-bar code304, or in both forms. The webpage 300 provided to the recipient mayinclude design elements consistent with the retailer's branding, such asa logo or other images, particular colors and/or typefaces associatedwith the retailer's trade dress, or any other design element desired bythe retailer.

After receiving the email message 200 containing the virtual gift cardand/or viewing the webpage 300 containing the virtual gift card, therecipient may choose to redeem the virtual gift card either in theretailer's on-line store 306 or at the retailer's physical storelocations 308. According to one embodiment, the email 200 and/or thewebpage 300 provided to the recipient may include a link 306 to theretailer's on-line store, where the recipient can enter the virtual giftcard code to use the virtual gift card toward a purchase. According toanother embodiment, the email 200 and/or the webpage 300 provided to therecipient may include a link 308 to print out the email 200 and/or thewebpage 300. To use the virtual gift card in a physical store location,the recipient may print out the email 200 and/or the webpage 300 andbring the printout to the physical store, where the recipient's virtualgift card code may be keyed (or, in embodiments in which the email orwebpage includes a barcode, scanned) or otherwise entered into acomputer which requests a debit from the recipient's virtual gift cardof the amount of purchase.

As discussed above, according to one embodiment, in the processor modelthe database of virtual gift cards (and associated codes and values) ismaintained by the virtual gift card provider. Thus, whether the virtualgift card is redeemed via on-line purchase or via in-store purchase, theretailer's computer communicates the purchase amount to the virtual giftcard provider to update the database. It also is to be appreciated thatany aspect of the transaction may be handled by the provider's servers.

According to some embodiments, the recipient of the gift card need notredeem the full value of the virtual gift card in a single purchase.Unused value is stored in the database at the provider's server, and therecipient can view the status of his or her virtual gift card by logginginto a management system operated by the virtual gift card provider. Inone embodiment, the recipient's virtual gift card is updated dynamicallyas purchases are made, and the recipient can access the database anddynamically view the current balance by accessing a web page provided bythe virtual gift card provider. For example, in one embodiments therecipient can visit the webpage 300 linked in the email 200 received bythe recipient. The link in that email may reference adynamically-generated page containing information about the recipient'svirtual gift card. For example, the link may include a field that isbased upon the recipient's virtual gift card code, and pass that fieldto an application on the provider's server that dynamically generates aweb page based upon the current status of the recipient's virtual giftcard. If desired, the recipient can make additional purchases at a laterdate either using the virtual gift card code for an on line purchase,using the original printout with the code or bar code, or by creating anew virtual gift card printout reflecting the new balance at a futuredate.

According to one embodiment, the system may also provide an application,such as a browser application, that the retailer may use to authorizeuse of the gift card at any time after payment has been approved. Asseen in FIG. 7, the browser application may include an interface 400 bywhich the retailer can authorize the use of a gift card. The interface400 may include fields 402 which display authorization informationrelated to the gift card. The authorization information fields 402 mayinclude such information as the amount requested, the amount approved,the remaining amount on the card, and/or the determination of whetherthe card has been approved. In one embodiment, the application issecured using Secure Sockets Layers (SSL), a username/passwordrequirement and/or the Internet Protocol (IP) address. Some examples andembodiments of the systems and methods that may be implemented accordingto the systems and methods described herein may be found in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/946,748, entitled PRE-PAID PAYMENT INSTRUMENTPROCESSING, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

According to some embodiments, the provider of the virtual gift cardservice can provide reporting, based upon the virtual gift carddatabase, to the recipient, to the retailer, or both. For example, theprovider can provide reporting of redemption statistics in real-time orover selected periods of time. The provider may also provide lift dataindicating any increase in spending for the retailer's goods and/orservices that can be attributed to the virtual gift card program overany time period. The provider may provide recency data showing a historyof the most recent transactions (including purchase and/or redemption ofvirtual gift cards) over any time period. The provider can provide anyother desired reporting that can be obtained from its database in whichthe times, amounts, and other data about virtual gift card purchase andredemption transactions are stored. According to one embodiment,reporting may be delivered by the provider through a webpage or browserapplication.

The development and administration of a virtual gift card by theprocessor model in accordance with one embodiment of the currentinvention will now be described in relation to the flow diagram 500 ofFIG. 8. At block 502, the retailer designs (or has designed on itsbehalf) a virtual gift card template to be used by the gift cardprovider. As discussed above, the virtual gift card template may includedesign elements consistent with the retailer's branding, such as a logoor other images, particular colors and/or typefaces associated with theretailer's trade dress, or any other design element desired by theretailer. According to one embodiment, the virtual gift card template isstored on a server of the gift card provider. The development of thevirtual gift card template will be described in greater detail below.

At block 504, a purchaser of a virtual gift card uses the virtual giftcard template to develop a virtual gift card. The purchaser may belinked to the virtual gift card template on the gift card provider'sserver by clicking on a link on the retailer's website. However, inanother embodiment, the purchaser may access the virtual gift cardtemplate on the gift card provider's server directly through a selfservice kiosk. In one embodiment, the self service kiosk is located inthe retailer's store. While developing the virtual gift card, thepurchaser may associate the virtual gift card with such information as arecipient's name, recipient's email and/or the value of the virtual giftcard. In one embodiment, the purchaser may also associate the virtualgift card with an encrypted Personal Identification Number (PIN) whichis required to redeem the virtual gift card.

At block 506, the virtual gift card system on the gift card provider'sserver, generates a unique virtual gift card code for the virtual giftcard as discussed above. In one embodiment, the virtual gift card codeis a 16-digit identification number. In another embodiment, the virtualgift card code may be displayed on the virtual gift card as a 16-bitalphanumeric number or a 1D or 2D barcode. As discussed above, thevirtual gift card code may be generated at any time during thedevelopment of the virtual gift card.

At block 508, the virtual gift card code and monetary value associatedwith the virtual gift card are stored in a database on the gift cardprovider's server. At block 510, the virtual gift card is delivered tothe intended recipient. In one embodiment, the virtual gift card isdelivered via email as discussed above. According to another embodiment,the date on which the virtual gift card is delivered to the recipientmay be pre-determined by the purchaser.

At block 512, the recipient of the virtual gift card may attempt toredeem the gift card. As discussed above, in one embodiment, the virtualgift card may be redeemed online or in the retailer's store. Dependingon whether the recipient redeems the gift card online or in the store,the virtual gift card code may either be entered manually or scanned viathe bar code.

After the virtual gift card code is processed, at block 514 the retailermay use a browser application, as discussed above, to authorize or denythe use of the gift card. According to one embodiment, the use of thegift card will be authorized if the remaining balance on the card isadequate to cover the purchase price and denied otherwise. After the useof the virtual gift card is authorized, at block 516, information suchas the virtual gift card code and the purchase amount is communicated tothe gift card provider. At block 518, based on the information receivedfrom the retailer, the gift card provider adjusts information related tothe virtual gift card code, such as the remaining balance. Also at block518, the gift card provider may store information in its database whichmay later be used by the retailer to generate statistics.

The system architecture of a system capable of developing andadministering virtual gift cards by the processor model in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention will now be described inrelation to FIG. 9. The retailer 606 provides information to the giftcard provider 602 to produce a virtual gift card template. A purchaser600 sends information to the virtual gift card provider server 602 toorder a virtual gift card. According to one embodiment, information maybe sent to the gift card server 602 over the internet. The virtual giftcard server 602 generates a virtual gift card and saves informationrelated to the virtual gift card (i.e. the purchased value and thevirtual gift card code) in the database 603 on the server 602. Theserver 602 sends a confirmation to the purchaser 600. The server 602also sends the virtual gift card, or at least an email linking to thevirtual gift card, to the recipient 604. The recipient 604 is able toredeem the virtual gift card with the retailer 606. According to oneembodiment, the recipient 604 may either redeem the gift card online atthe retailer's website or in the retailer's store. After entering orscanning in the virtual gift card code from the virtual gift card, theretailer 606 receives information about the virtual gift card (i.e. theavailable balance on the gift card) from the database 603 in the server602. The retailer 606 may then either authorize or deny usage of thevirtual gift card. According to one embodiment, the retailer 606 mayauthorize the use of a virtual gift card through the use of a browserapplication as discussed above. In response to the virtual gift cardbeing authorized, updated information such as the updated gift cardbalance is sent back to the server 602 from the retailer 606 to updatethe database 603.

Distributor Model

One difference between embodiments structured according to the processormodel and those structured according to the distributor model is that inthe distributor model, the virtual gift card codes are provided by theretailer (or by a third-party providing virtual gift card codes onbehalf of the retailer) instead of being generated by the virtual giftcard provider.

The virtual gift card codes may be provided to the virtual gift cardprovider in a variety of ways. In one embodiment, a block of virtualgift card codes may be stored in a database of the provider for issue(i.e., assignment to a particular virtual gift card) upon sale of avirtual gift card. In such embodiments, the retailer may generate ablock of such virtual gift card codes itself and provide them to thevirtual gift card provider, or obtain them from a third party. In thelatter case the retailer may receive a block of codes from the thirdparty and pass them to the virtual gift card provider or instruct thethird party to provide the codes directly to the virtual gift cardprovider.

In other embodiments, the virtual gift card codes may be provided to theprovider one at a time, when needed. For example, the provider canobtain one or more virtual gift card codes as-needed during the processof generating a virtual gift card via a system call that requests avirtual gift card code (or any needed number of virtual gift card codes)from the retailer or from the third-party providing codes on behalf ofthe retailer.

Additionally, in embodiments of the distributor model, rather than theprovider maintaining a database of virtual gift cards, the retailermaintains its own database of recipient accounts (or, a third partymaintains such a database on behalf of the retailer). In suchembodiments, there may be no need to update the provider when a virtualgift card is redeemed or partially redeemed. Accordingly the providermay not be involved in any aspects of transactions involving the virtualgift card after the virtual gift card is purchased and delivered.

Apart from such back-end implementation details, however, a virtual giftcard system according to the distributor model may appear substantiallythe same to purchasers and recipients of virtual gift cards. Thus,according to one embodiment, the distributor model system can operatealmost exactly as described above in connection with the processormodel. The interfaces and features made available to the purchaser asdescribed above in relation to the processor model may be implemented inembodiments of the distributor model as well. However, according to oneembodiment in which the retailer operates its own recipient accountdatabase, the provider may not provide virtual gift card use data orstatistics, and the recipient will not be able to view its redemptionhistory, monitor balance information, or print out new virtual giftcards by viewing a webpage generated by the provider.

The development and administration of a virtual gift card by thedistributor model in accordance with one embodiment of the currentinvention will now be described in relation to the flow diagram 700 ofFIG. 10. At block 702, the retailer, or third party on behalf of theretailer, generates virtual gift card codes (as described above). Atblock 704, the generated virtual gift card codes are transmitted to thegift card provider and stored in a database. As discussed below, blocks702 and 704 are optional and may be replaced by additionally optionalblocks 712 and 714.

At block 706, the retailer designs (or has designed on its behalf) avirtual gift card template. As discussed above, the virtual gift cardtemplate may include design elements consistent with the retailer'sbranding, such as a logo or other images, particular colors and/ortypefaces associated with the retailer's trade dress, or any otherdesign element desired by the retailer. According to one embodiment, thevirtual gift card template is stored on a server of the gift cardprovider. The development of the virtual gift card template will bedescribed in greater detail below.

At block 708, a purchaser of a virtual gift card uses the virtual giftcard template to develop a virtual gift card. The purchaser may belinked to the virtual gift card template on the gift card provider'sserver by clicking on a link on the retailer's website. However, inanother embodiment, the purchaser may access the virtual gift cardtemplate on the gift card provider's server directly through a selfservice kiosk. In one embodiment, the self service kiosk is located inthe retailer's store. While developing the virtual gift card, thepurchaser may associate the virtual gift card with such information as arecipient's name, recipient's email and/or the value of the virtual giftcard. In one embodiment, the purchaser may also associate the virtualgift card with an encrypted Personal Identification Number (PIN) whichis required to redeem the virtual gift card.

At block 710, in response to the virtual gift card codes beingpreviously generated and stored in the provider's database in blocks 702and 704, the virtual gift card provider associates one of the gift cardcodes with the virtual gift card. Alternatively, as discussed above,blocks 702 and 704 may be optional. If the gift card codes were notpreviously generated, at block 712 the gift card provider requests andsubsequently receives a virtual gift card code from the retailer. Atblock 714, the virtual gift card provider associates the received giftcard code with the virtual gift card.

At block 716, the virtual gift card information (i.e. the virtual giftcard codes, recipient information and purchase amount) are updated inthe recipient database maintained by the retailer. This is differentthan in the processor model in which such information is stored in adatabase in a virtual gift card provider database.

At block 718, the virtual gift card is delivered to the intendedrecipient. In one embodiment, the virtual gift card is delivered viaemail as discussed above. According to another embodiment, the date onwhich the virtual gift card is delivered to the recipient may bepre-determined by the purchaser.

At block 720, the recipient of the virtual gift card may attempt toredeem the gift card. As discussed above, in one embodiment, the virtualgift card may be redeemed online or in the retailer's store. Dependingon whether the recipient redeems the gift card online or in the store,the virtual gift card code may either be entered manually or scanned viathe bar code.

After the virtual gift card code is processed, at block 722 the retailermay use a browser application, as discussed above, to authorize or denythe use of the gift card. According to one embodiment, the use of thegift card will be authorized if the remaining balance on the card isadequate to cover the purchase price and denied otherwise. In responseto the virtual gift card being authorized, at block 724 the informationsaved in the retailer's recipient database (i.e. remaining balance) isupdated.

The system architecture of a system capable of developing andadministering virtual gift cards by the processor model in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention will now be described inrelation to FIG. 11. The retailer 808 provides information to the giftcard provider 804 to produce a virtual gift card template. The retailer808 may also send virtual gift card codes to the virtual gift cardprovider 804. The virtual gift card codes may be stored in a database812. As discussed above, the virtual gift card codes may also either bedirectly provided to the gift card provider 804 by a third party 806 orprovided to the gift card provider 804 by a third party 806 via theretailer 808.

A purchaser 800 sends information to the virtual gift card provider 804to develop a virtual gift card. According to one embodiment, informationmay be sent to the gift card server 804 over the internet. The virtualgift card provider 804 generates a virtual gift card and associates thevirtual gift card with one of the virtual gift card codes. The virtualgift card information (i.e. the purchased value and the virtual giftcard code) may be saved in the retailer's database 810.

The provider 804 sends a confirmation to the purchaser 800. The provider804 also sends the virtual gift card, or at least an email linking tothe virtual gift card, to the recipient 802. The recipient 802 is ableto redeem the virtual gift card with the retailer 808. According to oneembodiment, the recipient 802 may either redeem the gift card online atthe retailer's website or in the retailer's store. After entering orscanning in the virtual gift card code from the virtual gift card, theretailer 808 checks the database 810 for information about the virtualgift card (i.e. the available balance on the gift card). As such, unlikein the processor model, it is unnecessary to communicate with the giftcard provider when redeeming the virtual gift card. The retailer 808 maythen either authorize or deny usage of the virtual gift card. Accordingto one embodiment, the retailer 808 may authorize the use of a virtualgift card through the use of a browser application as discussed above.In response to the virtual gift card being authorized, the database 810is updated with current virtual gift card information (i.e. remainingbalance).

Bulk Purchase System

At times it may be desirable to purchase multiple virtual gift cardssimultaneously. For example, an employer wishing to purchase a gift cardfor every one of his employees may find it convenient to configure andpay for multiple gift cards in a single interface, rather than steppingthrough the entire configuration and payment process repeatedly. Forthis reason, a system for providing a virtual gift card may include aninterface for configuring multiple gift cards at once. The purchaser mayaccess such a bulk purchase interface by selecting an option within thevirtual gift card purchase interface.

According to one embodiment of a bulk purchase interface, as seen inFIG. 12, the interface 900 may include fields 902 in which the purchasercan enter denominations, recipient information, and/or customizedmessages for virtual gift cards any number of recipients. For example,the purchaser may select (or upload) a background image 904 that will beused for all the bulk-purchased virtual gift cards and then enterdenominations, recipient information, and/or customized messages for aplurality of recipients. In one embodiment, the purchaser may be giventhe option to specify the same denomination and/or the same customizedmessage for a plurality of recipients. In further embodiments, theinterface 900 may allow the purchaser to upload a text file, spreadsheetfile, or similar file containing denominations, recipient information,and/or customized messages for any number of recipients, instead ofentering such information by hand into the interface 900. In suchembodiments the system may specify one or more acceptable file formats(i.e. comma-delimited text).

Once the purchaser has submitted information specifying the virtual giftcard parameters for all of the bulk virtual gift card recipients, thepurchaser can proceed to the payment interface as described above. Thevirtual gift card provider's system may generate and assign a uniquevirtual gift card code to each of the specified recipients (in a systemaccording to the processor model) or assign from a database a uniquevirtual gift card code to each of the specified recipients (in a systemaccording to the distributor model).

Once the bulk purchase is complete, the virtual gift cards generated forthe multiple recipients may be handled individually as described above.For example, the virtual gift card provider's system may send an emailto each virtual gift card recipient, the email including thecorresponding virtual gift card code as assigned above. Each recipientmay redeem his or her own virtual gift card in any of the ways describedabove, including by shopping on-line with his or her virtual gift cardcode, and/or bringing to a physical store location a printout of theemail or of a webpage containing the virtual gift card in alphanumericand/or bar code form. In one embodiment, each individual recipient of avirtual gift card created as part of a bulk purchase can have access todynamically updated information, as described above. Any other trackingor reporting that is possible for any virtual gift card system can alsobe implemented for virtual gift cards purchased in bulk.

Additionally, according to one embodiment, the purchaser of the bulkpurchase of virtual gift cards may be provided, for example though apurchaser account at the provider's website, statistics relating to thebulk purchase. For example, the provider may provide access to data asto which or how many recipients have received, viewed, and/or used theirvirtual gift cards. Such data may be updated in real-time anddynamically accessed when the purchaser requests a report.

Virtual Gift Card Template System

Also provided in embodiments of the systems and methods described hereinis a readily customizable system of on-line tools that the retailer canuse to set up, configure, re-configure, and monitor a virtual gift cardprogram. Instead of engaging an in-house or third party developer todevelop tools for administering a virtual gift card program, a retailercan visit a provider's website and use the tools provided to quickly andeasily set up a virtual gift card template with as much branding, asmuch specificity, and as many options for the purchaser as the retailerwishes. As described further below, the retailer can, in embodiments,have access to monitoring and analysis tools for studying sales andredemption data in real-time.

According to one embodiment, the virtual gift card provider may providethe retailer with an application that the retailer may use to design atemplate for virtual gift cards associated with the retailer. Theapplication permits the retailer to specify one or more configurationsof design elements of the virtual gift card. The application may be, forexample, a browser application or a stand-alone application that runs ona computer of the retailer and sends the retailer-customized templatesto the provider for use in providing virtual gift cards. An advantage ofthis feature is that the retailer can control aspects of the appearanceof the virtual gift card, allowing the retailer to preserve its brandingfeatures (such as logo, typeface, design palate, &c.) even in virtualgift cards generated by the provider.

In one embodiment, the application presents an interface to a designeracting on behalf of the retailer that the designer may use to specifydesign elements of the retailer's virtual gift cards. For example, theinterface may permit the designer to specify one or more backgroundimages for the virtual gift cards, the size, color, and placement of anytext elements on the virtual gift card, or any other design feature. Theinterface may offer the designer a preview of the virtual gift cardtemplate either in real time or in response to a request from thedesigner.

Once the virtual gift card template is completed, it can be implementedby the virtual gift card provider. The virtual gift card template may bepresented to a virtual gift card purchaser through an interface such asthose described above, where the purchaser can provide any remaininginformation needed or desired to complete the virtual gift card. Thedesign template application may include fields allowing the designer tospecify which elements of the design are fixed within the template andwhich are subject to further customization by a virtual gift cardpurchaser.

In at least one embodiment, at least some design elements of thetemplate may be specified by the designer such that a purchaser using aninterface to purchase a virtual gift card may not be given the option tocustomize the design elements further. For example, the designer mayspecify that a logo of the retailer appear in a particular position onthe virtual gift card, such that the purchaser does not have the optionto remove the logo or move it to a different position on the gift card.As another example, the designer may specify that text on the virtualgift card appear in a particular size or particular color, such as acolor associated with the retailer's trade dress.

In one embodiment, at least some design elements of the template may bespecified with the designer such that additional specification is leftto a purchaser of a virtual gift card. For example, a designer mayprovide any number of background images that are stored in the template.These background images may be presented to the purchaser in thepurchase interface so that the purchaser may select one for the virtualgift card. As another example, the designer may specify in the templatethat text on the virtual gift card appear in a particular color, butleave to the purchaser the exact content of the text, such as therecipient's name and/or a personalized message provided to therecipient. As another example, the designer may specify the location oftext, such as the recipient's name, on the virtual gift card, but permitthe purchaser to select the color and the content of the text.

In one embodiment, after a virtual gift card template has beenestablished and stored, a designer can edit the template at any time viathe design template application. In another embodiment the designtemplate is stored in a database of the virtual gift card provider andcan be updated at any time via the design template application. Updatesto the design template may take effect immediately, and be reflected thenext time the design template is accessed by a purchaser.

Computer System

Various aspects and functions described herein in accord with thepresent invention may be implemented as hardware or software on one ormore computer systems. There are many examples of computer systemscurrently in use that may be suitable for implementing various aspectsof the present invention. Some examples include, among others, networkappliances, personal computers, workstations, mainframes, networkedclients, servers, media servers, application servers, database serversand web servers. Other examples of computer systems may include mobilecomputing devices, such as cellular phones and personal digitalassistants, network equipment, devices involved in commerce such aspoint of sale equipment and systems, such as handheld scanners, magneticstripe readers, bar code scanners and their associated computer systems,among others. Additionally, aspects in accord with the present inventionmay be located on a single computer system or may be distributed among aplurality of computer systems connected to one or more communicationnetworks.

For example, various aspects and functions may be distributed among oneor more computer systems configured to provide a service to one or moreclient computers, or to perform an overall task as part of a distributedsystem. Additionally, aspects may be performed on a client-server ormulti-tier system that includes components distributed among one or moreserver systems that perform various functions. Thus, the invention isnot limited to executing on any particular system or group of systems.Further, aspects may be implemented in software, hardware or firmware,or any combination thereof. Thus, aspects in accord with the presentinvention may be implemented within methods, acts, systems, systemelements and components using a variety of hardware and softwareconfigurations, and the invention is not limited to any particulardistributed architecture, network, or communication protocol.

FIG. 13 shows a block diagram of a distributed computer system 1000, inwhich various aspects and functions in accord with the present inventionmay be practiced. The distributed computer system 1000 may include onemore computer systems. For example, as illustrated, the distributedcomputer system 1000 includes three computer systems 1002, 1004 and1006, but distributed computer system 1000 could include any number ofsystems. As shown, the computer systems 1002, 1004 and 1006 areinterconnected by, and may exchange data through, a communicationnetwork 1008. Network 1008 may include any communication network throughwhich computer systems may exchange data. To exchange data via network1008, the computer systems 1002, 1004 and 1006 and the network 1008 mayuse various methods, protocols and standards including, among others,Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, TCP/IP, UDP, HTTP, FTP, SNMP, SMS, MMS, SS7,JSON, XML, REST, SOAP, RMI, DCOM and/or Web Services. To ensure datatransfer is secure, the computer systems 1002, 1004 and 1006 maytransmit data via the network 1008 using a variety of security measuresincluding TSL, SSL or VPN, among other security techniques. While thedistributed computer system 1000 illustrates three networked computersystems, the distributed computer system 1000 may include any number ofcomputer systems, networked using any medium and communication protocolor combination thereof.

Various aspects and functions in accord with the present invention maybe implemented as specialized hardware or software executing in one ormore computer systems including a computer system 1002 shown in FIG. 13.As depicted, the computer system 1002 includes a processor 1010, amemory 1012, a bus 1014 or other internal communication system, aninterface 1016, a storage system 1018 and a communication device 1020.Processor 1010, which may include one or more microprocessors or othertypes of controllers, can perform a series of instructions that resultin manipulated data. Processor 1010 may be a commercially availableprocessor such as an Intel Pentium, Motorola PowerPC, SGI MIPS, SunUltraSPARC, or Hewlett-Packard PA-RISC processor, but may be any type ofprocessor or controller as many other processors and controllers areavailable. As shown, processor 1010 may be connected to other systemelements, including a memory 1012, by bus 1014.

Memory 1012 may be used for storing programs and data during operationof the computer system 1002. Thus, memory 1012 may be a relatively highperformance, volatile, random access memory such as a dynamic randomaccess memory (DRAM) or static memory (SRAM). However, memory 1012 mayinclude any device for storing data, such as a disk drive or othernon-volatile storage device. Various embodiments in accord with thepresent invention can organize memory 1012 into particularized and, insome cases, unique structures to perform the aspects and functionsdisclosed herein.

Components of computer system 1002 may be coupled by an interconnectionelement such as bus 1014. Bus 1014 may include one or more physicalbusses (for example, busses between components that are integratedwithin a same machine), but may include any communication couplingbetween system elements including specialized or standard computing bustechnologies such as IDE, SCSI, PCI and InfiniBand. Thus, bus 1014 mayenable communications (for example, data and instructions) to beexchanged between system components of the computer system 1002.

The computer system 1002 also includes one or more interface devices1016 such as input devices, output devices and combination input/outputdevices. Interface devices 1016 may receive input or provide output.More particularly, output devices may render information for externalpresentation. Input devices may accept information from externalsources. Examples of interface devices include, among others, keyboards,bar code scanners, mouse devices, trackballs, magnetic strip readers,microphones, touch screens, printing devices, display screens, speakers,network interface cards, etc. The interface devices 1016 allow thecomputer system 1002 to exchange information and communicate withexternal entities, such as users and other systems.

Storage system 1018 may include a computer readable and writeablenonvolatile storage medium in which instructions are stored that definea program to be executed by the processor. Storage system 1018 also mayinclude information that is recorded, on or in, the medium, and thisinformation may be processed by the program. More specifically, theinformation may be stored in one or more data structures specificallyconfigured to conserve storage space or increase data exchangeperformance. The instructions may be persistently stored as encodedsignals, and the instructions may cause a processor to perform any ofthe functions described herein. The medium may, for example, be opticaldisk, magnetic disk or flash memory, among others. In operation,processor 1010 or some other controller may cause data to be read fromthe nonvolatile recording medium into another memory, such as the memory1012, that allows for faster access to the information by the processorthan does the storage medium included in the storage system 1018. Thememory may be located in storage system 1018 or in memory 1012.Processor 1010 may manipulate the data within memory 1012, and then copythe data to the medium associated with the storage system 1018 afterprocessing is completed. A variety of components may manage datamovement between the medium and integrated circuit memory element andthe invention is not limited thereto. Further, the invention is notlimited to a particular memory system or storage system.

Although computer system 1002 is shown by way of example as one type ofcomputer system upon which various aspects and functions in accord withthe present invention may be practiced, aspects of the invention are notlimited to being implemented on the computer system as shown in FIG. 13.Various aspects and functions in accord with the present invention maybe practiced on one or more computers having a different architecturesor components than that shown in FIG. 13. For instance, computer system1002 may include specially-programmed, special-purpose hardware, such asfor example, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) tailoredto perform a particular operation disclosed herein. While anotherembodiment may perform the same function using several general-purposecomputing devices running MAC OS System X with Motorola PowerPCprocessors and several specialized computing devices running proprietaryhardware and operating systems.

Computer system 1002 may include an operating system that manages atleast a portion of the hardware elements included in computer system1002. A processor or controller, such as processor 1010, may execute anoperating system which may be, among others, a Windows-based operatingsystem (for example, Windows NT, Windows 2000 (Windows ME), Windows XP,or Windows Vista) available from the Microsoft Corporation, a MAC OSSystem X operating system available from Apple Computer, one of manyLinux-based operating system distributions (for example, the EnterpriseLinux operating system available from Red Hat Inc.), a Solaris operatingsystem available from Sun Microsystems, or a UNIX operating systemsavailable from various sources. Many other operating systems may beused, and embodiments are not limited to any particular operatingsystem.

The processor and operating system together define a computing platformfor which application programs in high-level programming languages maybe written. These component applications may be executable, intermediate(for example, C# or JAVA bytecode) or interpreted code which communicateover a communication network (for example, the Internet) using acommunication protocol (for example, TCP/IP). Similarly, aspects inaccord with the present invention may be implemented using anobject-oriented programming language, such as SmallTalk, JAVA, C++, Ada,or C# (C-Sharp). Other object-oriented programming languages may also beused. Alternatively, procedural, scripting, or logical programminglanguages may be used.

Additionally, various aspects and functions in accord with the presentinvention may be implemented in a non-programmed environment (forexample, documents created in HTML, XML or other format that, whenviewed in a window of a browser program, render aspects of agraphical-user interface or perform other functions). Further, variousembodiments in accord with the present invention may be implemented asprogrammed or non-programmed elements, or any combination thereof. Forexample, a web page may be implemented using HTML while a data objectcalled from within the web page may be written in C++. Thus, theinvention is not limited to a specific programming language and anysuitable programming language could also be used.

A computer system included within an embodiment may perform functionsoutside the scope of the invention. For instance, aspects of the systemmay be implemented using an existing commercial product, such as, forexample, Database Management Systems such as SQL Server available fromMicrosoft of Seattle Wash., Oracle Database from Oracle of RedwoodShores, Calif., and MySQL from Sun Microsystems of Santa Clara, Calif.or integration software such as WebSphere middleware from IBM of Armonk,N.Y.

Other elements of the virtual gift card management system may includeother types of well-known systems such as credit card processing systemssuch as those available commercially from Hypercom, Verifone, Nurit, andother providers. Various systems of the virtual gift card managementsystem may integrate with other types of payment systems, such as debitcard processing systems, check card readers, PC-based payment terminalsystems, among others. For instance, various embodiments may be capableof working with one or more systems or components coupled through one ormore communication networks (e.g., networks 1022). For example, thevirtual gift card management system may integrate with, or beincorporated into, one or more Internet-based systems (e.g., Internetsites 1024), retailer systems (e.g., element 1026) or othercomputer-based systems that interact with gift card programs. Accordingto one embodiment, these types of systems may be adapted to manageoffers associated with gift cards. Some examples and embodiments of thesystems and methods that may be implemented according to the systems andmethods described herein may be implemented using systems similar tothose described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/946,748, entitledPRE-PAID PAYMENT INSTRUMENT PROCESSING incorporated herein by reference.

It should be understood that the invention is not limited to each of theembodiments described herein, but rather, various embodiments of theinvention may be practiced alone or in combination with otherembodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for administering a virtual gift card,the method comprising: receiving a request from a server of a retailer;providing, in response to the request, an interface to a terminaloperated by a purchaser, the interface comprising fields for receiving avalue and a recipient for the virtual gift card; receiving from theterminal, in response to input from the purchaser, the value and therecipient for the virtual gift card; generating a code for the virtualgift card; and sending a message to the recipient of the virtual giftcard, the message including the code for the virtual gift card.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from a terminaloperated by the recipient, a message including the code for the virtualgift card and an amount of a purchase; and debiting, from an accountassociated with the recipient, the amount of the purchase.
 3. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from a terminal operated bythe retailer, a message including the code for the virtual gift card andan amount of a purchase; and debiting, from an account associated withthe recipient, the amount of the purchase.
 4. The method of claim 1,further comprising receiving from the terminal, in response to inputfrom the purchaser, information specifying at least one customizabledesign element, and wherein the message sent to the recipient of thevirtual gift card includes the at least one customizable design element.5. The method of claim 4, wherein the interface includes a previewportion displaying the at least one customizable design elementaccording to the information specifying the at least one customizabledesign element.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the at least onecustomizable design element includes text.
 7. The method of claim 5,wherein the at least one customizable design element includes an image.8. The method of claim 1, wherein the interface provided to the terminaloperated by the purchaser further comprises a design element specific tothe retailer.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the message sent to therecipient of the virtual gift card further comprises a design elementspecific to the retailer.
 10. A method for providing a virtual giftcard, the method comprising: receiving at least one code for at leastone virtual gift card from a retailer; receiving a request from a serverof the retailer; providing, in response to the request, an interface toa terminal operated by a purchaser; the interface comprising fields forreceiving a value and a recipient for the virtual gift card; receivingfrom the terminal, in response to input from the purchaser, the valueand the recipient for the virtual gift card; associating a code with thevirtual gift card; and sending to the recipient of the virtual gift carda message including the code for the virtual gift card.
 11. The methodof claim 10, further comprising receiving from the terminal, in responseto input from the purchaser, information specifying at least onecustomizable design element, and wherein the message sent to therecipient of the virtual gift card includes the at least onecustomizable design element.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein theinterface includes a preview portion displaying the at least onecustomizable design element according to the information specifying theat least one customizable design element.
 13. The method of claim 12,wherein the at least one customizable design element includes text. 14.The method of claim 12, wherein the at least one customizable designelement includes an image.
 15. The method of claim 10, wherein theinterface provided to the terminal operated by the purchaser furthercomprises a design element specific to the retailer.
 16. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the message sent to the recipient of the virtual giftcard further comprises a design element specific to the retailer.
 17. Amethod for providing a virtual gift card template, the methodcomprising: providing an interface to a terminal operated by a designer,the interface comprising a plurality of fields, each of the plurality offields corresponding to a design element of the virtual gift cardtemplate; receiving from the terminal, in response to input from thedesigner, a value for each field of the plurality of fields, the valuespecifying the design element corresponding to the field; and providing,in response to receiving a request for a virtual gift card, a virtualgift card template having the specified design elements.
 18. The methodof claim 17, further comprising receiving from the terminal, in responseto input from the user, information specifying at least one customizabledesign element, and wherein the virtual gift card template includes theat least one customizable design element.
 19. The method of claim 18,wherein the interface includes a preview portion displaying the at leastone customizable design element according to the information specifyingthe at least one customizable design element.
 20. The method of claim19, wherein the at least one customizable design element includes text.21. The method of claim 19, wherein the at least one customizable designelement includes an image.
 22. The method of claim 1, wherein theinterface provided to the terminal operated by the designer furthercomprises a design element specific to the retailer.
 23. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the virtual gift card template comprises a designelement specific to the retailer.
 24. A method for administering aplurality of virtual gift cards, the method comprising: receiving arequest from a server of a retailer; providing, in response to therequest, an interface to a terminal operated by a purchaser; theinterface comprising fields for receiving at least one value and aplurality of recipients for the plurality of virtual gift cards;receiving from the terminal, in response to input from the purchaser,the at least one value and the plurality of recipients for the pluralityof virtual gift cards; generating a plurality of codes, each codecorresponding to one of the plurality of virtual gift cards; and sendinga message to each of the plurality of recipients of the virtual giftcards, the message including one of the plurality of codes.
 25. Themethod of claim 24, further comprising: receiving, from a terminaloperated by a one of the recipients, a message including the code sentto the recipient and an amount of a purchase; and debiting, from anaccount associated with the one of the recipient, the amount of thepurchase.
 26. The method of claim 24, further comprising: receiving,from a terminal operated by the retailer, a message including the codesent to one of the recipients and an amount of a purchase; and debiting,from an account associated with the one of the recipient, the amount ofthe purchase.
 27. The method of claim 24, further comprising receivingfrom the terminal, in response to input from the purchaser, informationspecifying at least one customizable design element, and wherein themessage sent to the recipient of the virtual gift card includes the atleast one customizable design element.
 28. The method of claim 27,wherein the interface includes a preview portion displaying the at leastone customizable design element according to the information specifyingthe at least one customizable design element.
 29. The method of claim28, wherein the at least one customizable design element includes text.30. The method of claim 28, wherein the at least one customizable designelement includes an image.
 31. The method of claim 24, wherein theinterface provided to the terminal operated by the purchaser furthercomprises a design element specific to the retailer.
 32. The method ofclaim 24, wherein the message sent to the recipient of the virtual giftcard further comprises a design element specific to the retailer.
 33. Amethod for providing a plurality of virtual gift cards, the methodcomprising: receiving a plurality of codes for the plurality of virtualgift cards from a retailer; receiving a request from a server of theretailer; providing, in response to the request, an interface to aterminal operated by a purchaser; the interface comprising fields forreceiving at least one value and a plurality of recipients for theplurality of virtual gift cards; receiving from the terminal, inresponse to input from the purchaser, the at least one value and theplurality of recipients for the plurality of virtual gift cards;associating one of the plurality of codes with one of the plurality ofvirtual gift cards; and sending to each of the plurality of recipients,a message including one of the plurality of codes.
 34. The method ofclaim 33, further comprising receiving from the terminal, in response toinput from the purchaser, information specifying at least onecustomizable design element, and wherein the message sent to a recipientof a virtual gift card includes the at least one customizable designelement.
 35. The method of claim 34, wherein the interface includes apreview portion displaying the at least one customizable design elementaccording to the information specifying the at least one customizabledesign element.
 36. The method of claim 35, wherein the at least onecustomizable design element includes text.
 37. The method of claim 35,wherein the at least one customizable design element includes an image.38. The method of claim 33, wherein the interface provided to theterminal operated by the purchaser further comprises a design elementspecific to the retailer.
 39. The method of claim 33, wherein themessage sent to the recipient of the virtual gift card further comprisesa design element specific to the retailer.
 40. A computer readablemedium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon that defineinstructions that, as a result of being executed by a computer, instructthe computer to perform a method for administering a virtual gift card,the method comprising the acts of: receiving a request from a server ofa retailer; providing, in response to the request, an interface to aterminal operated by a purchaser, the interface comprising fields forreceiving a value and a recipient for the virtual gift card; receivingfrom the terminal, in response to input from the purchaser, the valueand the recipient for the virtual gift card; generating a code for thevirtual gift card; and sending a message to the recipient of the virtualgift card, the message including the code for the virtual gift card. 41.The computer readable medium of claim 40, the method further comprising:receiving, from a terminal operated by the recipient, a messageincluding the code for the virtual gift card and an amount of apurchase; and debiting, from an account associated with the recipient,the amount of the purchase.
 42. The computer readable medium of claim40, the method further comprising: receiving, from a terminal operatedby the retailer, a message including the code for the virtual gift cardand an amount of a purchase; and debiting, from an account associatedwith the recipient, the amount of the purchase.
 43. The computerreadable medium of claim 40, the method further comprising: receivingfrom the terminal, in response to input from the purchaser, informationspecifying at least one customizable design element, and wherein themessage sent to the recipient of the virtual gift card includes the atleast one customizable design element.
 44. The computer readable mediumof claim 43, wherein the interface includes a preview portion displayingthe at least one customizable design element according to theinformation specifying the at least one customizable design element. 45.The computer readable medium of claim 44, wherein the at least onecustomizable design element includes text.
 46. The computer readablemedium of claim 44, wherein the at least one customizable design elementincludes an image.
 47. The computer readable medium of claim 40, whereinthe interface provided to the terminal operated by the purchaser furthercomprises a design element specific to the retailer.
 48. The computerreadable medium of claim 40, wherein the message sent to the recipientof the virtual gift card further comprises a design element specific tothe retailer.
 49. A computer readable medium having computer-readableinstructions stored thereon that define instructions that, as a resultof being executed by a computer, instruct the computer to perform amethod for administering a virtual gift card, the method comprising theacts of: receiving at least one code for at least one virtual gift cardfrom a retailer; receiving a request from a server of the retailer;providing, in response to the request, an interface to a terminaloperated by a purchaser; the interface comprising fields for receiving avalue and a recipient for the virtual gift card; receiving from theterminal, in response to input from the purchaser, the value and therecipient for the virtual gift card; associating a code with the virtualgift card; and sending to the recipient of the virtual gift card amessage including the code for the virtual gift card.
 50. The computerreadable medium of claim 49, the method further comprising receivingfrom the terminal, in response to input from the purchaser, informationspecifying at least one customizable design element, and wherein themessage sent to the recipient of the virtual gift card includes the atleast one customizable design element.
 51. The computer readable mediumof claim 50, wherein the interface includes a preview portion displayingthe at least one customizable design element according to theinformation specifying the at least one customizable design element. 52.The computer readable medium of claim 51, wherein the at least onecustomizable design element includes text.
 53. The computer readablemedium of claim 51, wherein the at least one customizable design elementincludes an image.
 54. The computer readable medium of claim 49, whereinthe interface provided to the terminal operated by the purchaser furthercomprises a design element specific to the retailer.
 55. The computerreadable medium of claim 49, wherein the message sent to the recipientof the virtual gift card further comprises a design element specific tothe retailer.
 56. A computer readable medium having computer-readableinstructions stored thereon that define instructions that, as a resultof being executed by a computer, instruct the computer to perform amethod for administering a virtual gift card, the method comprising theacts of: providing an interface to a terminal operated by a designer,the interface comprising a plurality of fields, each of the plurality offields corresponding to a design element of the virtual gift cardtemplate; receiving from the terminal, in response to input from thedesigner, a value for each field of the plurality of fields, the valuespecifying the design element corresponding to the field; and providing,in response to receiving a request for a virtual gift card, a virtualgift card template having the specified design elements.
 57. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 56, the method further comprisingreceiving from the terminal, in response to input from the user,information specifying at least one customizable design element, andwherein the virtual gift card template includes the at least onecustomizable design element.
 58. The computer readable medium of claim57, wherein the interface includes a preview portion displaying the atleast one customizable design element according to the informationspecifying the at least one customizable design element.
 59. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 58, wherein the at least onecustomizable design element includes text.
 60. The computer readablemedium of claim 58, wherein the at least one customizable design elementincludes an image.
 61. The computer readable medium of claim 56, whereinthe interface provided to the terminal operated by the designer furthercomprises a design element specific to the retailer.
 62. The computerreadable medium of claim 56, wherein the virtual gift card templatecomprises a design element specific to the retailer.
 63. A computerreadable medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereonthat define instructions that, as a result of being executed by acomputer, instruct the computer to perform a method for administering aplurality of virtual gift cards, the method comprising the acts of:receiving a request from a server of a retailer; providing, in responseto the request, an interface to a terminal operated by a purchaser; theinterface comprising fields for receiving at least one value and aplurality of recipients for the plurality of virtual gift cards;receiving from the terminal, in response to input from the purchaser,the at least one value and the plurality of recipients for the pluralityof virtual gift cards; generating a plurality of codes, each codecorresponding to one of the plurality of virtual gift cards; and sendinga message to each of the plurality of recipients of the virtual giftcards, the message including one of the plurality of codes.
 64. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 63, the method further comprising:receiving, from a terminal operated by a one of the recipients, amessage including the code sent to the recipient and an amount of apurchase; and debiting, from an account associated with the one of therecipient, the amount of the purchase.
 65. The computer readable mediumof claim 63, the method further comprising: receiving, from a terminaloperated by the retailer, a message including the code sent to one ofthe recipients and an amount of a purchase; and debiting, from anaccount associated with the one of the recipient, the amount of thepurchase.
 66. The computer readable medium of claim 63, the methodfurther comprising receiving from the terminal, in response to inputfrom the purchaser, information specifying at least one customizabledesign element, and wherein the message sent to the recipient of thevirtual gift card includes the at least one customizable design element.67. The computer readable medium of claim 66, wherein the interfaceincludes a preview portion displaying the at least one customizabledesign element according to the information specifying the at least onecustomizable design element.
 68. The computer readable medium of claim67, wherein the at least one customizable design element includes text.69. The computer readable medium of claim 67, wherein the at least onecustomizable design element includes an image.
 70. The computer readablemedium of claim 63, wherein the interface provided to the terminaloperated by the purchaser further comprises a design element specific tothe retailer.
 71. The computer readable medium of claim 63, wherein themessage sent to the recipient of the virtual gift card further comprisesa design element specific to the retailer.
 72. A computer readablemedium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon that defineinstructions that, as a result of being executed by a computer, instructthe computer to perform a method for administering a plurality ofvirtual gift cards, the method comprising the acts of: receiving aplurality of codes for the plurality of virtual gift cards from aretailer; receiving a request from a server of the retailer; providing,in response to the request, an interface to a terminal operated by apurchaser; the interface comprising fields for receiving at least onevalue and a plurality of recipients for the plurality of virtual giftcards; receiving from the terminal, in response to input from thepurchaser, the at least one value and the plurality of recipients forthe plurality of virtual gift cards; associating one of the plurality ofcodes with one of the plurality of virtual gift cards; and sending toeach of the plurality of recipients, a message including one of theplurality of codes.
 73. The computer readable medium of claim 72, themethod further comprising receiving from the terminal, in response toinput from the purchaser, information specifying at least onecustomizable design element, and wherein the message sent to a recipientof a virtual gift card includes the at least one customizable designelement.
 74. The computer readable medium of claim 73, wherein theinterface includes a preview portion displaying the at least onecustomizable design element according to the information specifying theat least one customizable design element.
 75. The computer readablemedium of claim 74, wherein the at least one customizable design elementincludes text.
 76. The computer readable medium of claim 74, wherein theat least one customizable design element includes an image.
 77. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 72, wherein the interface provided tothe terminal operated by the purchaser further comprises a designelement specific to the retailer.
 78. The computer readable medium ofclaim 72, wherein the message sent to the recipient of the virtual giftcard further comprises a design element specific to the retailer.
 79. Asystem for administering a virtual gift card, the system comprising: acomponent configured to receive a request from a server of a retailer; acomponent configured to provide, in response to the request, aninterface to a terminal operated by a purchaser, the interfacecomprising fields for receiving a value and a recipient for the virtualgift card; a component configured to receive from the terminal, inresponse to input from the purchaser, the value and the recipient forthe virtual gift card; a component configured to generate a code for thevirtual gift card; and a component configured to send a message to therecipient of the virtual gift card, the message including the code forthe virtual gift card.
 80. The system of claim 79, further comprising: acomponent configured to receive, from a terminal operated by therecipient, a message including the code for the virtual gift card and anamount of a purchase; and a component configured to debit, from anaccount associated with the recipient, the amount of the purchase. 81.The system of claim 79, further comprising: a component configured toreceive, from a terminal operated by the retailer, a message includingthe code for the virtual gift card and an amount of a purchase; and acomponent configured to debit, from an account associated with therecipient, the amount of the purchase.
 82. The system of claim 79,further comprising a component configured to receive from the terminal,in response to input from the purchaser, information specifying at leastone customizable design element, and wherein the message sent to therecipient of the virtual gift card includes the at least onecustomizable design element.
 83. The system of claim 82, wherein theinterface includes a preview portion displaying the at least onecustomizable design element according to the information specifying theat least one customizable design element.
 84. The system of claim 83,wherein the at least one customizable design element includes text. 85.The system of claim 83, wherein the at least one customizable designelement includes an image.
 86. The system of claim 79, wherein theinterface provided to the terminal operated by the purchaser furthercomprises a design element specific to the retailer.
 87. The system ofclaim 79, wherein the message sent to the recipient of the virtual giftcard further comprises a design element specific to the retailer.
 88. Asystem for providing a virtual gift card, the system comprising: acomponent configured to receive at least one code for at least onevirtual gift card from a retailer; a component configured to receive arequest from a server of the retailer; a component configured toprovide, in response to the request, an interface to a terminal operatedby a purchaser; the interface comprising fields for receiving a valueand a recipient for the virtual gift card; a component configured toreceive from the terminal, in response to input from the purchaser, thevalue and the recipient for the virtual gift card; a componentconfigured to associate a code with the virtual gift card; and acomponent configured to send to the recipient of the virtual gift card amessage including the code for the virtual gift card.
 89. The system ofclaim 88, further comprising a component configured to receive from theterminal, in response to input from the purchaser, informationspecifying at least one customizable design element, and wherein themessage sent to the recipient of the virtual gift card includes the atleast one customizable design element.
 90. The system of claim 89,wherein the interface includes a preview portion displaying the at leastone customizable design element according to the information specifyingthe at least one customizable design element.
 91. The system of claim90, wherein the at least one customizable design element includes text.92. The system of claim 90, wherein the at least one customizable designelement includes an image.
 93. The system of claim 88, wherein theinterface provided to the terminal operated by the purchaser furthercomprises a design element specific to the retailer.
 94. The system ofclaim 88, wherein the message sent to the recipient of the virtual giftcard further comprises a design element specific to the retailer.
 95. Asystem for providing a virtual gift card template, the systemcomprising: a component configured to provide an interface to a terminaloperated by a designer, the interface comprising a plurality of fields,each of the plurality of fields corresponding to a design element of thevirtual gift card template; a component configured to receive from theterminal, in response to input from the designer, a value for each fieldof the plurality of fields, the value specifying the design elementcorresponding to the field; and a component configured to provide, inresponse to receiving a request for a virtual gift card, a virtual giftcard template having the specified design elements.
 96. The system ofclaim 95, further comprising a component configured to receive from theterminal, in response to input from the user, information specifying atleast one customizable design element, and wherein the virtual gift cardtemplate includes the at least one customizable design element.
 97. Thesystem of claim 96, wherein the interface includes a preview portiondisplaying the at least one customizable design element according to theinformation specifying the at least one customizable design element. 98.The system of claim 97, wherein the at least one customizable designelement includes text.
 99. The system of claim 97, wherein the at leastone customizable design element includes an image.
 100. The system ofclaim 95, wherein the interface provided to the terminal operated by thedesigner further comprises a design element specific to the retailer.101. The system of claim 95, wherein the virtual gift card templatecomprises a design element specific to the retailer.
 102. A system foradministering a plurality of virtual gift cards, the system comprising:a component configured to receive a request from a server of a retailer;a component configured to provide, in response to the request, aninterface to a terminal operated by a purchaser; the interfacecomprising fields for receiving at least one value and a plurality ofrecipients for the plurality of virtual gift cards; a componentconfigured to receive from the terminal, in response to input from thepurchaser, the at least one value and the plurality of recipients forthe plurality of virtual gift cards; a component configured to generatea plurality of codes, each code corresponding to one of the plurality ofvirtual gift cards; and a component configured to send a message to eachof the plurality of recipients of the virtual gift cards, the messageincluding one of the plurality of codes.
 103. The system of claim 102,further comprising: a component configured to receive, from a terminaloperated by a one of the recipients, a message including the code sentto the recipient and an amount of a purchase; and a component configuredto debit, from an account associated with the one of the recipient, theamount of the purchase.
 104. The system of claim 102, furthercomprising: a component configured to receive, from a terminal operatedby the retailer, a message including the code sent to one of therecipients and an amount of a purchase; and a component configured todebit, from an account associated with the one of the recipient, theamount of the purchase.
 105. The system of claim 102, further comprisinga component configured to receive from the terminal, in response toinput from the purchaser, information specifying at least onecustomizable design element, and wherein the message sent to therecipient of the virtual gift card includes the at least onecustomizable design element.
 106. The system of claim 105, wherein theinterface includes a preview portion displaying the at least onecustomizable design element according to the information specifying theat least one customizable design element.
 107. The system of claim 106,wherein the at least one customizable design element includes text. 108.The system of claim 106, wherein the at least one customizable designelement includes an image.
 109. The system of claim 102, wherein theinterface provided to the terminal operated by the purchaser furthercomprises a design element specific to the retailer.
 110. The system ofclaim 102, wherein the message sent to the recipient of the virtual giftcard further comprises a design element specific to the retailer.
 111. Asystem for providing a plurality of virtual gift cards, the systemcomprising: a component configured to receive a plurality of codes forthe plurality of virtual gift cards from a retailer; a componentconfigured to receive a request from a server of the retailer; acomponent configured to provide, in response to the request, aninterface to a terminal operated by a purchaser; the interfacecomprising fields for receiving at least one value and a plurality ofrecipients for the plurality of virtual gift cards; a componentconfigured to receive from the terminal, in response to input from thepurchaser, the at least one value and the plurality of recipients forthe plurality of virtual gift cards; a component configured to associateone of the plurality of codes to each one of the plurality of virtualgift cards; and a component configured to send to each of the pluralityof recipients, a message including one of the plurality of codes. 112.The system of claim 111, further comprising a component configured toreceive from the terminal, in response to input from the purchaser,information specifying at least one customizable design element, andwherein the message sent to a recipient of a virtual gift card includesthe at least one customizable design element.
 113. The system of claim112, wherein the interface includes a preview portion displaying the atleast one customizable design element according to the informationspecifying the at least one customizable design element.
 114. The systemof claim 113, wherein the at least one customizable design elementincludes text.
 115. The system of claim 113, wherein the at least onecustomizable design element includes an image.
 116. The system of claim111, wherein the interface provided to the terminal operated by thepurchaser further comprises a design element specific to the retailer.117. The system of claim 111, wherein the message sent to the recipientof the virtual gift card further comprises a design element specific tothe retailer.